Paris attacks: Fugitive Salah Abdeslam being hunted by Isis for 'failing' to blow up suicide vest

An international manhunt in on for Salah, believed to be one of the Paris attackers.

November 20, 2015 19:37 IST

It has now emerged that the eighth Paris attacker, Salah Abdeslam, for whom a worldwide manhunt has been launched, is on the run over fears that he would be bumped off by the Islamic State (Isis) for "failing" to blow up his suicide vest.

According to a report in the The Independent, Abdeslam panicked at the last moment.

The report said that investigators believe that Abdeslam was supposed to complete his task by blowing himself up and become a "martyr" but since he "failed" to do so, the Isis now would want to punish him.

A close friend of Abdeslam told a Belgian newspaper Sudpresse that he was on the run as he feared that Isis might seek revenge on his family, if he surrendered himself to the police.

"He told me that he had gone too far. He was overwhelmed by what had happened," the unnamed friend said. "But he could not give himself up... there might be consequences for his family."

Investigations reveal that Abdeslam had no plans to escape, but was forced to do so after he "failed" to detonate his suicide vest.

A French police personnel told The Independent that Abdeslam's call records and movements inside Paris indicate that he had no pre-planned escape strategy.

A video of a gunman, believed to be Abdeslam, also shows him point a gun towards customers in a cafe. It was earlier believed that he did not fire the assault rifle as it got jammed, but now, it has emerged that Abdeslam might have had a change of heart.

Abdeslam reportedly called up two to three other friends, before he found someone to drive him back to Belgium. While being driven back to Brussels, he was stopped at least thrice by the police but was allowed to go as he was yet to be identified as one of the attackers.